The present disclosure relates generally to alternative energy systems and building automation systems (BAS). The present invention relates more particularly to a smart communications controller configured to control equipment in the alternative energy system and to automatically detect a communications protocol for the controlled equipment.
A BAS is, in general, a system of devices configured to control, monitor, and manage equipment in or around a building or building area. A BAS can include, for example, a HVAC system, a security system, a lighting system, a fire alerting system, any other system that is capable of managing building functions or devices, or any combination thereof. A BAS can include various types of building equipment (e.g., chillers, fans, valves, dampers, etc.) that operate to control conditions within a building space.
An alternative energy site can include equipment configured to collect energy from alternative energy sources (e.g., solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectric energy, etc.) and convert the energy to useable electricity. Alternative energy sites can include solar panels, electric generators, wind turbines, power inverters, and other types of equipment configured to facilitate the functions of the alternative energy site.
An owner of an alternative energy site may desire to monitor and control the equipment through a BAS. However, some alternative energy equipment do not support the BACnet protocol or any other type of building automation system protocol. Some power inverters support the Modbus protocol, but are not directly compatible with BAS networks. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) can be used to control power inverters in real-time (e.g., down to the millisecond), but can be difficult to interface with a BAS. It would be desirable to monitor and control equipment in an alternative energy site through a BAS network.